At the first World Cup slalom of this Olympic winter, a German ski racer with an illustrious name is making her debut: Romy Ertl, the daughter of the former world-class athlete Martina Ertl, was nominated for the slalom in Levi, Finland.
“My biggest childhood dream is coming true,” wrote the 18-year-old on Instagram. “Whaaat??? I’m sooo excited.” The Upper Bavarian also posted photos of herself as a small child, including with her mother Martina.
The SC Lenggries athlete is one of four German starters for the slalom on Saturday (10 a.m./1 p.m./CET/Eurosport and ZDF stream). Along with podium candidate Lena Dürr, the up-and-coming Emma Aicher and Jessica Hilzinger, she is clearly the least experienced in the team.
Mama Martina was at the top of the world in the 90s and noughties
A good two years ago, Romy Ertl took part in a lower-class race organized by the World Federation Fis for the first time. At the level of these so-called Fis races, she regularly raced onto the podium.
Of course, it’s still a long way from her mother’s class and merits. Martina Ertl was one of the best ski racers in the world in the 90s and early 2000s. She won three Olympic medals between 1994 and 2002 and four World Cup plaques between 1993 and 2005. These included gold in the combination in 2001 and the team event in 2005. In the World Cup she raced to 14 victories and was on the podium a total of 57 times.